bigbadbrother
08-24-2014, 03:12 PM
Tom Jensen
Joey Logano wasn't the only big winner Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
While Logano won the Irwin Tools Night Race at the 0.533-mile oval, Matt Kenseth (3rd) and Ryan Newman (13th) got some good news, too.
With 24 of 26 races complete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season, 12 different drivers have won races so far. That means even if there are first-time winners next week at Atlanta and again the following week at Richmond, there will be no more than 14 different winners in the regular season. And that's a huge help for Kenseth and Newman.
After the Richmond race, the field will be set for the 10-race, season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 16-driver Chase field will consist of drivers who have won races in the regular season, along with the nonwinners who are highest in points.
Right now, the Chase field consists of 12 drivers who have won races and the top four winless drivers in points:
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have three race victories each.
Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards have two victories each.
Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin have one win each.
Of the winless drivers, Kenseth has the most points, with 751. Newman is next (710), followed by Clint Bowyer (699) and Greg Biffle (694). With two races to go, those are the four drivers who would make the Chase on points. By virtue of his points total, Kenseth is a virtual lock to make the Chase, no matter what happens in the final two regular-season races.
On the outside looking in after Bristol are Kyle Larson, who is 26 points behind Biffle for the final transfer spot, Kasey Kahne (-33) and Austin Dillon (-40).
Of course, all that could go out the window if there are one or two new winners in the next two weeks. But for every winless racer behind Biffle in points right now, it's pretty much win or miss the Chase, go or go home.
Irwin Tools Night Race
Aug 23, 2014 | Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, Tennessee | 266.5 mi
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Joey Logano 22 Ford 5 500 76 47 133.8
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 9 500 46 43 122.8
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 16 500 62 42 115.1
4 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 6 500 0 40 106.8
5 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 7 500 0 39 107.1
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 21 500 0 38 80.1
7 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 3 500 0 37 100.4
8 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 18 500 148 38 116.8
9 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 17 500 0 35 85.3
10 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 8 500 0 34 89.4
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 1 500 75 34 116.3
12 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 40 500 0 32 78.6
13 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 11 500 0 31 92.0
14 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 22 500 0 30 82.1
15 Jeff Burton 14 Chevrolet 25 499 0 29 80.0
16 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 2 499 17 29 87.9
17 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 14 498 0 27 66.7
18 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 28 498 0 26 63.7
19 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 19 497 0 25 71.9
20 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 23 497 0 24 68.4
21 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 15 497 0 23 71.0
22 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 39 497 0 0 57.9
23 David Ragan 34 Ford 29 496 0 21 52.9
24 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 36 496 0 20 52.2
25 David Gilliland 38 Ford 32 495 0 19 49.0
26 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 43 495 0 18 44.6
27 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 24 493 0 17 45.2
28 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 26 493 0 16 35.6
29 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 30 492 0 15 42.8
30 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 34 492 0 14 38.1
31 David Stremme 33 Chevrolet 41 491 0 13 33.5
32 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 27 489 0 12 53.9
33 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 37 489 0 0 37.4
34 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 10 480 0 10 53.8
35 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 12 477 40 10 79.6
36 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 4 442 8 9 68.4
37 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 33 338 0 7 38.0
38 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 38 243 0 6 29.9
39 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 20 176 0 5 68.6
40 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 13 160 28 5 79.5
41 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 42 123 0 3 43.7
42 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 31 78 0 2 30.8
43 Dave Blaney 37 Chevrolet 35 37 0 1 24.8
2014 Irwin Tools Night Race Stats
Scheduled Laps: 500
Total Laps: 500
Distance: 266.5 miles
Lead Changes: 23
Joey Logano wasn't the only big winner Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
While Logano won the Irwin Tools Night Race at the 0.533-mile oval, Matt Kenseth (3rd) and Ryan Newman (13th) got some good news, too.
With 24 of 26 races complete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season, 12 different drivers have won races so far. That means even if there are first-time winners next week at Atlanta and again the following week at Richmond, there will be no more than 14 different winners in the regular season. And that's a huge help for Kenseth and Newman.
After the Richmond race, the field will be set for the 10-race, season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 16-driver Chase field will consist of drivers who have won races in the regular season, along with the nonwinners who are highest in points.
Right now, the Chase field consists of 12 drivers who have won races and the top four winless drivers in points:
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have three race victories each.
Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards have two victories each.
Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger and Denny Hamlin have one win each.
Of the winless drivers, Kenseth has the most points, with 751. Newman is next (710), followed by Clint Bowyer (699) and Greg Biffle (694). With two races to go, those are the four drivers who would make the Chase on points. By virtue of his points total, Kenseth is a virtual lock to make the Chase, no matter what happens in the final two regular-season races.
On the outside looking in after Bristol are Kyle Larson, who is 26 points behind Biffle for the final transfer spot, Kasey Kahne (-33) and Austin Dillon (-40).
Of course, all that could go out the window if there are one or two new winners in the next two weeks. But for every winless racer behind Biffle in points right now, it's pretty much win or miss the Chase, go or go home.
Irwin Tools Night Race
Aug 23, 2014 | Bristol Motor Speedway - Bristol, Tennessee | 266.5 mi
Pos Driver Car # Make Started Laps Led Points Driver Rating
1 Joey Logano 22 Ford 5 500 76 47 133.8
2 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 9 500 46 43 122.8
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 16 500 62 42 115.1
4 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 6 500 0 40 106.8
5 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 7 500 0 39 107.1
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 21 500 0 38 80.1
7 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 3 500 0 37 100.4
8 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 18 500 148 38 116.8
9 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 17 500 0 35 85.3
10 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 8 500 0 34 89.4
11 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 1 500 75 34 116.3
12 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 40 500 0 32 78.6
13 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 11 500 0 31 92.0
14 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 22 500 0 30 82.1
15 Jeff Burton 14 Chevrolet 25 499 0 29 80.0
16 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 2 499 17 29 87.9
17 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 14 498 0 27 66.7
18 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 28 498 0 26 63.7
19 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 19 497 0 25 71.9
20 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 23 497 0 24 68.4
21 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 15 497 0 23 71.0
22 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 39 497 0 0 57.9
23 David Ragan 34 Ford 29 496 0 21 52.9
24 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 36 496 0 20 52.2
25 David Gilliland 38 Ford 32 495 0 19 49.0
26 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 43 495 0 18 44.6
27 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 24 493 0 17 45.2
28 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 26 493 0 16 35.6
29 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 30 492 0 15 42.8
30 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 34 492 0 14 38.1
31 David Stremme 33 Chevrolet 41 491 0 13 33.5
32 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 27 489 0 12 53.9
33 J.J. Yeley 32 Ford 37 489 0 0 37.4
34 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 10 480 0 10 53.8
35 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 12 477 40 10 79.6
36 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 4 442 8 9 68.4
37 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 33 338 0 7 38.0
38 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 38 243 0 6 29.9
39 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 20 176 0 5 68.6
40 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 13 160 28 5 79.5
41 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 42 123 0 3 43.7
42 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 31 78 0 2 30.8
43 Dave Blaney 37 Chevrolet 35 37 0 1 24.8
2014 Irwin Tools Night Race Stats
Scheduled Laps: 500
Total Laps: 500
Distance: 266.5 miles
Lead Changes: 23